Steppe viper
| Steppe viper | ||||||||||||
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Steppe viper ( Vipera renardi ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Vipera renardi | ||||||||||||
| ( Christoph , 1861) |
The steppe viper ( Vipera renardi ) belongs to the genus of real otters ( Vipera ) within the family of vipers (Viperidae ).
features
The steppe viper has a slender body with a head that is moderately detached from the neck, both sexes reach a total length of about 62 cm. The head has clear snout edges and is concave on the top in the front area. The basic color of the head and body is gray to gray-brown, the markings are dark brown. On the top of the dark head there is a temple band on each side, the dark area of the top closes in the back part in the form of a "V". A zigzag band runs along the back, which can be broken up into crossbars. The flanks are marked by two further rows of spots. It can only be distinguished from the meadow viper ( V. ursinii ) on the basis of its scales.
As a viper, Vipera renardi has poison glands and retractable tubular poison teeth. Nothing is known about their venom, but a venom bite is less dangerous than the bite of an adder ( V. berus ).
Way of life
The steppe viper leads a shy way of life. It hibernates from October / November to March. The species reproduces through Ovoviviparie (viviparous egg). Their mating season is in May, sometimes mating also takes place in summer. The young snakes are born in August. The range of prey includes arthropods (especially grasshoppers ), but also young rodents , birds and small lizards .
Occurrence
The steppe viper is found in the Danube Delta (border area between Ukraine and Romania near the Black Sea ), southern Russia , the North Caucasus and from Kazakhstan to Central Asia at heights of up to 1500 m. above sea level (from r. lotievi to 2700 m. above sea level). Their habitat are level steppes with bush or tree vegetation, dry steppes and in the mountains scree slopes, grass steppes and meadows. The viper is particularly endangered on the plains, especially when they are transformed into agricultural land. Large protected areas would have to be designated for effective protection.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1861 by the German naturalist Hugo Theodor Christoph . The steppe viper was long counted as a subspecies V. ursinii renardi to the meadow viper. According to recent studies, their species status is due. The International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) currently lists V. renardi as a synonym for the Caucasus otter ( V. kaznakovi ). Depending on the author, the steppe viper can be divided into the following 5 subspecies:
- Vipera renardi renardi ( Christoph 1861)
- Vipera renardi bashkirovi ( Garanin , Pavlov & Bakiev in Bakiev et al. 2004)
- Vipera renardi ebneri ( Knöpfler & Sochurek , 1955)
- Vipera renardi parursinii ( Nilson & Andrén 2001)
- Vipera renardi tienshanica ( Nilson & Andrén 2001)
In 2005 Dely & Joger described the species Vipera lotievi ( Nilson et al., 1995) as a subspecies of the steppe viper, but most authors continue to recognize it as a separate species.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ IUCN Red List: Vipera kaznakovi
- ^ Vipera renardi in The Reptile Database ; Retrieved January 7, 2011.
- ↑ Vipera lotievi in Reptile Database ; Retrieved January 7, 2011.
literature
- Dieter Glandt: Pocket dictionary of amphibians and reptiles in Europe. All types from the Canary Islands to the Urals. Quelle and Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2010, ISBN 3-494-01470-1 .
